Lower Body Fitness – From the Ground Up

By Rick Morris

There is a silly song called “Dry Bones” that my friends and I used to sing when we were kids. It went something like this: “The foot bone connected to the leg bone, the leg bone connected to the knee bone, the knee bone connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bone connected to the back bone…” The song goes on like this until finally, the neck bone is connected to the head bone. Yes, this song is a bit wacky and it is not anatomically perfect, but in a simple and basic way it accurately describes how your lower body works. The anatomy of your lower body does start with your foot and each of the individual segments of your legs are connected to the next. Not bone to bone, but through a system of muscles, ligaments and tendons.

The basic components of your lower body are your feet, lower leg and upper leg. Each of these components depend upon the strength of the other much like the links in a chain. If any part of your lower body is weak or inefficient it can have an adverse effect on any physical activity, especially those involving walking or running.

Every activity you engage in while on your feet depends upon a strong lower body. That obviously includes nearly all forms of recreation and exercise. That makes lower body fitness a critical part of any fitness and exercise program. Running and walking are ideal ways to improve the strength and endurance of your legs and feet. In this article I will show you how to use the treadmill to build and maintain a fit and toned lower body. You will increase your lower body fitness, improve your sports performance and build toned, sculpted legs that will turn heads. Of course, you can also do these workouts outside, but they do require some rather specific hill workouts. If you live in a hill challenged area you will probably need your treadmill.

The Foot Bone Connected To the Leg Bone

Everything starts with your foot. It is, if you will excuse my use of a rather overused metaphor, “where the rubber meets the road.” Your foot is composed of twenty six separate bones that are held together by an incredible number of ligaments and attached to muscles by many tendons. All of these structures are required to do an enormous amount of work. When you run, your foot absorbs a force that is about 2 to 3 times your body weight, depending upon how efficiently you run. A more efficient runner will run more lightly and with less impact than a less efficient runner. The feet of a typical 125 pound runner will need to cope with approximately 100 tons of force during a mile of running. When running a marathon, the feet of that same athlete will bear the full force of around 2600 tons! That is a lot of stress to place on one of the smallest parts of your body!

Your feet are also among your most ignored and abused body parts. Just think about it. How often do you make any attempt to strengthen your feet? For most of us, the answer is never! One of the first things we do each morning is cram our feet into restrictive shoes that wrap around our feet like a cast. Today’s high priced and over engineered running shoes are designed to support our feet and remove as much of the impact from walking and running as possible. At first glance that sounds like a good thing. The supportive and cushioned shoes will keep all of the stress away from the bones, ligaments and muscles in our feet and help keep our feet healthy – right? In some ways, yes, that is correct. If we don’t use our feet we won’t injure them. But, are they getting stronger?

Your feet are just like any other part of your body. How do you strengthen the muscles in your upper body? You place stress on them by lifting weights. If you don’t place stress on your muscles and ligaments, they won’t get stronger or fitter. So, why do we always want to put something on our feet that removes all stress? Why not walk or run without shoes so that the muscles and connective tissues in our feet are able to work and strengthen normally? We have always been told that we need those high priced shoes to support our feet so that we can avoid injury. Scientific studies have shown that to be incorrect. In countries where both barefoot and shod running and walking are common, the injury rate is much lower among barefoot runners than with the shoe wearing population (Robbins and Hanna, 1987). The same study showed that the incidence of chronic running related injuries is rare among a population that habitually run or walk barefoot.

One of the most chronic injuries among runners is plantar fasciitis, which is an inflammation of a thick tissue that runs along the sole of your foot. When excessive stress is placed on this tissue, it can become inflamed and cause pain. A lifetime of shoe wearing causes your unused foot muscles to become weak. This places more stress on the plantar fascia. Including barefoot walking or running in your exercise routine will strengthen those muscles. Your stronger and fitter foot muscles will take some of the stress away from your plantar fascia and help you avoid this injury. Other injures that can be reduced through barefoot running include shin splints, knee pain and even chronic injuries such as ankle sprains.

Barefoot Walking/Running Program

The best starting point for barefoot activity is to simply walk around your home in your bare feet. Take every opportunity possible. Every time you step into your home, take off your shoes. Keep them off until you need to go somewhere. If you go outside to get the paper or mail, keep your shoes off. After a week or two of this “barefoot base” conditioning you will be ready to begin the following six week treadmill barefoot running program. The treadmill is a great machine to use for barefoot training. There are no sharp rocks, sticks or debris for you to step on or worry about. Some treadmill belts tend to get quite hot due to friction. If your treadmill gets excessively hot, wear socks to protect your feet from the heat. Eventually, after the soles of your feet adapt and thicken, you will not notice the heat. At this point, the bottoms of your feet are probably thin and sensitive. If you are using a treadmill in a gym, regulations may require you to wear socks for public health purposes. Keep in mind that you are going to be working muscles and placing stress on ligaments that have been inactive for some time. You will notice some normal soreness. If the soreness becomes chronic or severe, stop your barefoot running program until you are pain free. You can follow this same sequence outside, just be sure to gradually move from softer and smoother to harder, more abrasive surfaces as the soles of your feet toughen up. Also watch out for any sharp rocks or debris that could cut or bruise your foot. 

• Week One – On day one walk barefoot for 10 minutes. Extend your barefoot walking time by 2 minutes each day. At the end of the week you should be able to walk for 20 to 22 minutes in your bare feet.

• Week Two – For your first workout this week walk barefoot for 18 minutes and then run barefoot at slow, easy pace for 2 minutes. Decrease the duration of your barefoot walking and increase the duration of your barefoot running by 2 minute each day. For example, on day 2 you should walk 16 minutes and run 4 minutes. By day seven you should be walking 6 minutes and running 14 minutes.

• Week Three – Start your week by running barefoot at a slow, easy pace for 15 minutes. Increase the duration of your barefoot running by 1 minute each day. By day 7 you should be running barefoot for 21 minutes.

• Week Four – On day one run at a slow easy pace for 22 minutes. Increase the duration of your run by 1 minute each day. By day 7 you should be running barefoot for 28 minutes.

• Week Five – Studies have shown that after 3 to 4 weeks your plantar skin will become strong enough to allow longer and more intense barefoot running sessions (Robbins et al., 1993). This week you will begin to run at a more intense pace. For your first workout this week run at a slow, easy pace for 20 minutes and then speed up to a pace that feels moderately difficult for 5 minutes. Each day, decrease the duration of your easy running by 1 minute and increase the duration of your more intense pace by 1 minute. At the end of the week you should be running 14 minutes at an easy pace and 11 minutes at a moderately hard pace.

• Week Six – For your first workout this week run 10 minutes at a slow, easy pace. Speed up to a moderately hard pace for 15 minutes and then speed up again to a hard pace for 30 seconds. Each day decrease the duration of your easy run by one minute, increase the duration of your moderately hard run by one minute and increase the duration of your hard run by 30 seconds. For example, on day 2 you will run 9 minutes at an easy pace, 16 minutes at a moderately hard pace and 1 minute at a hard pace. At the end of the week you should be running 4 minutes at an easy pace, 21 minutes at a moderately hard pace and 3 minutes 30 seconds at a hard pace.

   

You have now conditioned and strengthened your feet to the level at which you can perform most of your typical workouts barefoot. Your entire lower body will be stronger, more efficient and injury resistant.

The Leg Bone Connected To the Knee Bone

The next link in your lower body fitness chain is your lower leg. The major muscles are the gastrocnemius and soleus. These two muscles are more commonly called your calf muscles. The gastrocnemius is the largest and most visible muscle. The soleus is located beneath the gastrocnemius. Both of these muscles are used to plantar flex your foot. When you stand on your toes you are plantar flexing. Both muscles are used extensively when you run, jump, skip and walk. The gastrocnemius works harder when your knee is straight and the soleus takes over most the action when your knee is bent.

It is important to work your calf muscles with your knee in both a straight and bent position. This will insure that you properly develop both the gastrocnemius and soleus. Running is the best exercise for strengthening your calf because that activity depends upon these muscles to propel your body both upward and forward.

The Knee Bone Connected To the Thigh Bone

The final and largest link in your lower body chain is your upper leg. The most important muscles in your upper leg are commonly known as your quadriceps and hamstring muscle groups. Your quadriceps group is located on the front of your upper leg and are composed of the rectus femoris, vastus intermedius, vastus medialis and vastus lateralis muscles. The rectus femoris is located directly on the front of your leg. The vastus medialis is on the inside of your leg and the vastus lateralis on the outside. The vastus intermedius cannot be seen because it is located under your rectus femoris muscle. All of these muscles are used to extend or straighten your leg. Your rectus femoris performs the additional duty of flexing your hip. These muscles are used extensively during running, walking, jumping and skipping.

Your hamstring muscle group is located on the back of your upper leg. There are three muscles in this group. They are the biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus muscles. The primary duty of these muscles is to flex or “bend” your leg at the knee. They are used extensively when running.

One more muscle that can’t be left out of a discussion about lower body fitness is your gluteus maximus or “butt muscle” This muscle is also used extensively when running, but does not work hard when you are walking. This is because your “glutes” only come into action when you extend your leg well behind your body. You do not extend your leg that far during a normal walking stride, but you do when you are running, skipping or jumping.

The most critical factor when designing a workout is the primary job of the muscles you are exercising. All of the muscles in your lower body have one thing in common. Their primary job is to propel your body forward when you are walking or running. In fact, the hamstring muscle group is often referred to as the “running muscle” because it is so important in running and accelerating. It follows that the most efficient way to exercise your lower body muscles is by running and power walking. With that in mind here are 3 workouts that you can do on a weekly basis that will improve the strength, power, performance and last but certainly not least, the appearance of your leg muscles.

Leg Blaster

Hill running and walking is one the most versatile types of workouts you can do. Running on an incline is especially effective at strengthening and toning both of the muscles in your calf. Recall that the gastrocnemius muscle is used more when your leg is straight and the soleus is called into action when your knee is bent. Hill running requires work in both positions. In the support phase of your running stride your knee is in an exaggerated bent position due to the incline. As you push yourself up the hill, your knee straightens. Hill running also works your glutes, quadriceps and hamstring muscles. The total duration of this workout is 30 minutes.

• Set your treadmill elevation at 1% or level 1. Walk or run at an easy pace for 10 minutes to warm up.

• Increase the incline to 2% or level 2. Run at a pace that feels moderately hard for 2 minutes.

• Set the incline to 3% or level 3. Run at a pace that feels moderately hard for 2 minutes.

• Raise the incline to 4% or level 4. Run for 2 minutes at a pace that feels moderately hard.

• Increase the elevation to 5% or level 5. Run at a moderately hard pace for 2 minutes.

• Decrease the elevation to 2% or level 2. Run at a pace that feels easy for 2 minutes.

• Increase the elevation to 6% or level 6. Run at a pace that feels moderately hard for 2 minutes.

• Raise the incline to 7% or level 7. Run at a pace that feels moderately hard for 2 minutes.

• Decrease the elevation to 2%. Run at a pace that feels easy for 2 minutes.

• Set the incline to 8% or level 8. Run for 1 minute at a pace that feels hard.

• Decrease the elevation to 2% or level 2. Run at a pace that feels easy for 2 minutes.

• Raise the elevation to 10% or level 10. Run at a pace that feels hard for 1 minute.

• Decrease the incline to 2% or level 2. Run at a pace that feels easy for 10 minutes.

Speed Demon

Running fast has a lot of benefits that slower running cannot give you. Faster, more intense running will build more muscle, burn more calories and is more efficient at sculpting your leg muscles. Your hamstring muscle group will especially benefit from high intensity running. These muscles are strongly activated when you accelerate. The faster you run, the more this muscle is used. Here is a speed workout that will help develop and strengthen your hamstrings as well as your quadriceps and calf muscles. Keep in mind that for training purposes, speed is a relative term. When you are running fast, your effort should be high and your workout should feel hard. There is no specific running speed associated with these workouts. It will vary from athlete to athlete. Keep your treadmill elevation set at 1% or level 1 for all of these workouts.

• Warm up with 10 minutes of easy running.

• Increase your speed to a level that feels moderately hard. This pace should not feel all out. You breathing should be elevated but you should not be out of breath. One rule of thumb is that you should be able to talk, but not sing. If you are unable to talk you are running too fast. If you are able to clearly sing, you are running too slowly. Run at this pace for ½ mile

• Slow down to an easy pace and run for ¼ mile.

• Increase your speed to 5 seconds per mile faster than segment 2. Run at that pace for ½ mile

• Slow down to your easy pace and run for ¼ mile.

• Speed up to 5 seconds per mile faster than segment 4. Run at that pace for ½ mile.

• Slow back down to your easy pace and run for ¼ mile.

• Speed up to 5 seconds per mile faster than segment 6. Run for ½ mile.

• Slow down to an easy pace for ¼ mile of running.

• Speed up to 10 seconds per mile faster than segment 8. Run for ½ mile.

• Slow down to an easy pace and run for 10 minutes at an easy pace to cool down.

   

Run the Peak

This is a challenging but effective workout that will strengthen your lower body muscles and core as well as improving your endurance, running strength, running economy and stamina. Run at your normal easy pace. As the incline increases your rate of perceived exertion will go way up, but try to maintain a steady pace.

• Set your treadmill elevation at 1% or level 1 and run for 10 minutes to warm up.

• Raise the elevation to 2% or level 2 and run for ½ mile.

• Increase the incline to 4% or level 4 and run for ½ mile.

• Set the elevation at 6% or level 6 and run for ½ mile.

• Increase the elevation to 8% or level 8 and run for ½ mile.

• Raise the elevation to 10% or level 10 and run for ¼ mile.

• Decrease the elevation to 8% or level 8 and run for ½ mile.

• Decrease the incline to 6% or level 6 and run for ½ mile.

• Lower the incline to 4% or level 4 and run for ½ mile.

• Decrease the elevation to 2% or level 2 and run for 10 minutes.

Easy Home Exercises

Barefoot running and walking is the most efficient way to improve the heath and fitness of your feet. But there are some easy exercises that you can do anytime that will also improve the strength of your foot. Here are two easy barefoot exercises that you can do while you are relaxing in your home.

• Toe Pulls – Place a towel under you toes. Grip the towel with your toes and pull it towards your foot by curling your toes. Keep pulling until you reach the end of the towel. Do this several times with each foot. You can do this exercise in a standing or sitting position.

• Alphabet Tracing – From a sitting position, extend you leg in front of you. Point your toes and trace all of the letters of the alphabet in the air with the front of your foot. Repeat with the other foot.

References:

Robbins SE, Hanna AM (1987). Running related injury prevention through barefoot adaptations. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 19, 148-156

Robbins SE, Gouw GJ, McClaran J, Waked E (1993). Protective sensation of the plantar aspect of the foot. Foot and Ankle 14, 347-352

Thompson CW, Floyd RT (1994). Manual of Structural Kinesiology, St. Louis, USA, Mosby-Year Book, Inc.

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